Ravenclaw's Deepest Secret
by Lily MJ Fae
Summary: Rowena Ravenclaw had a dream to start a school for magical children. She never counted on Salazar Slytherin waltzing in and sweeping her off her feet.
_**A/N:**_ _This is my first ever Gift fic and is a belated birthday present for_ _ **The Lady Arturia**_ _, aka_ _ **Arty**_ _! She requested a tragic love story between Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. With a special thank you to "_ _ **Queen Bookworm The First" f**_ _or her help with editing!_

 _Prompts:_

 _Quidditch Pitch: "Just Give me a Reason" By Pink_

 _Drabble Club: " Am I interrupting anything?"_

* * *

 _Right from the start_

 _You were a thief_

 _You stole my heart_

 _And I your willing victim_

* * *

"Rowena, you have a guest!"

She looked up from the parchment she was working on, sighing heavily. From the tone in her father's voice, it was about her post for the school she wanted to start. She already had two partners, but she thought that just one more would be a good idea. Her father, however, disapproved of her wanting any career.

Curious about who could possibly want to join her in starting a new school for witches and wizards, she made her way downstairs. As soon as she entered the sitting room, her eyes met silver and her heart skipped.

"This is Salazar Slytherin. He wants to talk to you about your ridiculous school idea."

Her father left the room and Rowena tried to catch her breath. The man that stood before her was certainly not old, though his hair was silver.

He greeted her with a bow and a half smile and suddenly her heart melted. She blushed profusely as she curtsied in return.

"Hello. I'm Rowena Ravenclaw," she said, fighting to keep the blush off her cheeks.

"Charmed. So what's this about a magic school that you want to start?"

"Oh! Well, I thought that many witches and wizards don't learn everything they can to make the most of their abilities. If there was a school, they could learn. We could have the best witches and wizards of all areas come to teach."

He watched as her whole face lit up in joy and continued to smile at her. When she had finished explaining, a wide grin permanently in place on her enchanting face, he held his hand out to shake. "I'd love to be a part of this school of yours, Miss Ravenclaw. Would you have me?"

Without a second thought, she shook his hand, a jolt of electricity coding through her. "Absolutely, Mr. Slytherin."

"Please, call me Salazar."

* * *

 _I let you see the parts of me_

 _That weren't all that pretty_

 _And with every touch you fixed them_

* * *

Rowena threw yet another lot of possible names against the wall. Despite the fact that they hadn't found even suitable grounds for their school, she was struggling. She needed to have something more. She couldn't figure it out.

"You seem frustrated," came the baritone voice of her colleague.

She looked up and meet his gaze with a glare. Though it was short lived, as his eyes made her heart skip every time.

"I have nothing more than a dream. I can't accomplish it without anything, and I'm so useless that I can't even think of a name!"

He say down across from her and continue to gaze at her in a way that always left her confused.

"You're far from useless. You're intelligent, beautiful, and creative. You're also very generous. The idea is monumental. It will take time." He placed a hand over hers, stopping her quill. "Tell me again about your dream for school. Tell me the plans you have for it."

She reiterated how she wanted it to be a marvelous castle with large grounds. She explained how she wanted a grand hall for feats and studying and that she wanted to enchant the ceiling to look like the sky without all the worries of weather. She wanted the staircases to move and demanded that there be a grand library for the students to enjoy.

She wanted dormitories for the students, ones that were suited to them. They had been throwing around rudimentary ideas for how to separate the students past age, and she wanted to make sure that everyone had the perfect living situation.

"Just think of that every time you get stressed," he told her as he stood up.

"And if it doesn't work?"

"Then you'll have to find me," he said as he leaned in towards her. He planted a soft gentle kiss on her lips.

Her eyes went wide before she closed them and let herself melt into the kiss.

* * *

"Rowena!"

She jolted upright in bed and almost knocked her head into Salazar's.

"Are you okay? You were screaming, I could hear you through the walls."

Her heart skipped and she pulled the covers up to her chest as he chuckled and stroked her cheek.

"I-I just had a nightmare is all."

She had almost forgotten that the four of them had moved into a small house in order to better plan for the school.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"NO!" The truth was, she couldn't. She wasn't ready.

"It might help. You were...convulsing, like you were in pain."

"I-" She paused and shuddered. It was more of a memory than a dream anyway.

"Ro, it's okay. You can tell me."

"Just… my father likes to experiment with spells. He made a very dark one. He calls it the torturing curse. And it's...unpleasant, to say the least." She screwed her eys shut, trying to force the nightmare out.

"That's-"

"It's fine. Would you stay though?"

"I couldn't. Your reputation would be ruined."

"Just until I fall back asleep? I doubt have much of a reputation because of the school anyway."

He kissed her forehead. "Only until you fall asleep."

Rowena screamed in joy as Salazar lifted her from the ground and spun her around.

"You really think this will work?" she asked after he set her back down.

"There's enough land here to build ten castles, my dear. And, though it's still odd, Hogwarts is the perfect name."

* * *

 _Things you never say to me, oh, oh_

* * *

"Salazar, enough!" Rowena shouted, silencing the room completely. Her face was red from fury. "The muggles burn ALL witches and wizards at the stake. They burn their own kind too! We will not abandon the magical children born to them! You've been out voted."

He shot her a look of betrayal, one that would only mean anything to her, and stormed out.

"I'm going to try and talk him out of it," she said determinedly as she left the room.

The castle wasn't finished yet; theyhad to ward bricks and the walls as they went, and it was quite time consuming. She found him at the base of what they planned to be the astronomy tower.

"You should take my side," he growled, turning to face her. His eyes were dark and angry

"Why? Because you've been kissing away my bad dreams? I won't compromise my dreams for you, Salazar." She huffed, glaring at him fiercely.

"You care more about your stupid school than you do for me."

"Not at all, Sal. But if you cared for me enough, you wouldn't try to impede on my dream. All children deserve to learn."

"The muggles kill us! And anyone who cohorts with them is a traitor to us all." His voice rose with very word.

"People cannot help who they are. A muggle child born with magic did not ask for the family they were born in, just as a halfblood can't. They all deserve a safe place to learn."

"Children learn from their parents," he said softly.

"And from the other adults in their lives. We can teach them otherwise."

"I don't want to."

* * *

 _There's nothing more than empty sheets_

* * *

"I shouldn't be here," Rowena said as she nuzzled herself against his bare skin.

"It's a bit late for that," Salazar responded carelessly. "Several months late."

"I realize that, thank you very much. But we're not married," she said as she traced random patterns on his chest with her finger. "Shouldn't we perhaps consider that? It's been a few years since we met. And still a few more since we first kissed. The school is done and-"

"We're not getting married. It's not in the cards for us."

His tone was so cold and final that a little part of her died, her hope slowly withering. "Why? We love each other don't we? Why can't we-"

"Enough! Rowena, I will never marry you, so make yourself understand that."

"The school year is almost over; wherever you go over the summer break, please think about it."

"There's nothing think about. If you're going to to push the subject, get out of my bed."

Rowena pulled herself away from him and grabbed her things and prepared to step out of the room. She turned around one last time, meeting his gaze pleadingly.

"Please Sal, promise me you'll think about it."

* * *

 _It's been written in the scars on our hearts_

* * *

Rowena made her way to the astronomy tower where she and Salazar had a habit of saying goodbye at the end of term. A certain excitement bloomed in her stomach as she ascended the stairs. Perhaps she finally had what she needed to convince him.

"Salazar, I've missed you. Why must you stay away for so long?"

Rowena stopped dead at the sound of another woman's voice, her heart dropping.

"Never mind, I suspect that I won't be here much longer. You needn't worry."

Rowena worked her way up the rest of the stairs, trying to swallow back the tears.

"Hello, Salazar," she greeted, hoping her voice sounded steady enough. "Am I interrupting anything? Who is this lovely guest?"

Truth be told, Rowena thought the woman was quite ugly. Her nose was too large for her face and her eyes were too close together. And she had a wart on the top of her nose.

The woman stepped forward and curtsied. "I'm Wilma. His wife."

Rowena almost couldn't suppress the jolt of pain that hit her heart.

"Dear, why don't you go ahead? I'll meet you by the entrance," Salazar told Wilma as he kissed her.

Rowena waited, holding her breath, until she was certain that the woman couldn't hear the outburst. "YOU'RE MARRIED? YOU NEVER TOLD ME? HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED? HAVE YOU JUST BEEN USING ME?"

He looked at her with a curious glance that enraged her further.

"GET OUT OF MY SCHOOL! Get out, and don't even consider returning." Her voice was a mere whisper at the end, full of pain.

"You don't even understand how easy you are to manipulate," he said with a smirk. "I've been married to her since before I met you. And yes, she knows about you. She knows about all of my strays." He sent her a wink.

Rowena stared at him, hurt, and trying so hard not to let herself collapse. "Go!"

He casually made his way to the stairs and descended them, whistling merrily as he went.

She walked over to a wall and let herself fall down, welcoming the cold stone of the floor, before passing her hands over her stomach.

"It's just you and me," she cried. He was gone.

* * *

 _We're not broken, just bent_

 _And we can learn to love again_

* * *

 _Salazar,_

 _It's been far too many years since we spoke. And it should have never gone down the way it did. After years and years of reflection, I have come to realize that you wanted it that way. Thought no one knows about us. I never told._

 _There is however sending I must tell you now. I am dying. Magic can't fix whatever is wrong with me. And before I die, there is a secret that I must share with you. I've held onto it all these years._

 _That fateful day on the astronomy tower, I was coming to tell you something very important, something that I was sure would convince you to marry me. I had found out that I was with child. Your child. As such, I never told anyone about your involvement in her creation. I asked simply said that her father was gone. You have a daughter. A beautiful daughter. Her name is Helena. I've loved her for so long, though a part of me expected her to adore to greatness such as yourself and I. I'm afraid it's driven her to betrayal. She's stolen my diadem, though again, you remain the only one who knows this secret, and fled to Albania. I've sent a baron after her; he loves her._

 _There's a chance that when she returns, she will no longer have a mother. She'll need someone, and I believe part of the reason she stolen the diadem was in an attempt to find you, or whoever she thought might be be father. I know that you could love her if you only gave her a chance unlike the one you gave me._

 _I wish that I had reached out sooner and told you. I've always wondered what could have happened. If I had more time, I'd beg you to come to me and perhaps we could mend things. Alas, last I knew, you were still married and I'm still hurt._

 _Please be kind to Helena, as you are her only family. My father passed away. She needs you._

 _Love,_

 _Rowena_

* * *

Rowena passed a few days after writing the letter, as well as a pair for her daughter, both bound by blood magic to prevent anyone other than the intended from reading it.

Unfortunately for her, Helena had met her untimely demise at the hands of the very man who had loved her and therefore would never get to learn the truth of her heritage.

But even Salazar himself would never know as he died just before receiving the letter. An old enemy had found him and challenged him to a duel. Salazar, being the arrogant man that he was, agreed, not knowing that the man would play unfairly.

So in the end, Rowena died alone, bearing the weight of her shameful secret. No one else ever would know about Salazar Slytherin's illegitimate daughter. No one would know about the love they had once shared. It was a secret that would die with them.


End file.
